Nothing Is Ever Easy
by Unknown Typist
Summary: Summary: Hermione and Ron are dating, but cautious of getting engaged. Ginny's relationship with her boyfriend is crumbling down. And Harry blindly refuses to even consider dating because he wants to focus on his career. But is that all there really is to it?...
1. Chapter 1

Harry walked aimlessly into the living room. It was the Christmas holidays and thick heavy snow was falling outside The Burrow. Unfortunately, the sight inside the house - on the sofa to be exact - was far less appealing than the pretty snowstorm.

He walked over to the window seat and grabbed his new Quidditch book, a present from Hagrid, (even though he left Hogwarts a while ago, he still kept in contact with his old friend) and slowly turned back around.

He sighed while tripping over a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans on his escape out of the room. The small noise caused the couple snogging on the sofa to fly to separate ends.

Ron and Hermione had been an item for about three years now - since the Battle of Hogwarts- but Harry still had issues stomaching their enthusiastic displays of affection.

Hermione started fiddling with a strand of her long, bushy hair in embarrassment and Ron's face turned as red as his hair.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…disturb, you," Harry mumbled awkwardly, before turning and disappearing back into the, much safer, kitchen.

"I should have warned you about them, but it's much funnier watching your reaction when you catch them in the act," Ginny chuckled, flicking through the pages of Witch Weekly before turning to face him. His horrified expression slowly shifted to one of annoyance now that his vision no longer contained his two best friends sharing saliva.

"Thanks for that," he muttered back, trying to get rid of the image in his head.

"You're welcome," she said, grinning at the fact that it was Harry's turn to walk in on them, not hers.

"When I think back to how much they used to fight, I never imagined them being like this years later," he uttered .He waked over to the sink and leant against the counter, not taking his eyes off of Ginny, who was sitting at the table watching him just as carefully.

"Do you remember when they didn't stop arguing for the whole summer when we were all hiding in Grimmauld Place?" she recalled.

"I know what you mean. Their disagreements varied from the correct way to make tea to how to climb a tree," he laughed quietly to himself, thinking about how in the end neither of them could get past the first branch anyway, whereas he and Ginny had both managed to get about three quarters of the way up.

"I must admit, I think I might have preferred that to what we have to handle now," Ginny sighed, leaning back and closing her eyes.

"Agreed," Harry replied weakly, "I know they have every right to do…that sort of stuff. But if I walk in on them again""

"I know! Eurgh!"

They smiled at each other for a few seconds before Ginny pulled open the chair next to her and signalled for Harry to sit down, which he did immediately.

"Butterbeer?" she asked, as he flopped into the seat.

"That would be great, thanks," he answered. She smiled and summoned two bottles from the open cupboard at the other end of the room. They uncorked them at the same time.

"To a Christmas that we'll never forget," Ginny toasted. Harry touched his bottle to hers and they each took a large swig.

"So…how's Dean?" Harry asked carelessly, putting his bottle down on the table.

Ginny and her ex-boyfriend had recently gotten back together, after they had both been signed to the same pro Quidditch team, the same one that Harry had been part of for almost a year. Harry had his suspicions as to how Dean managed to make the team, but couldn't help but notice the way the manager paid special attention to him . He could have sworn that he saw them both sat in a café together the other week, but he was probably just imagining it. If it was anything important, Ginny would have told him about it.

Puddlemere United had been advertising for two new Chasers and Harry - knowing that Ginny wanted to turn pro - had suggested to her that she should come and try out. She did, making the squad almost instantly. Dean joined after her, and pretty soon they were a couple again.

"Dean's fine…" she said slowly, her face dropping slightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, not forcefully, but assertively.

"Nothing, nothing…it's just that…I can't help but feel like he's becoming quite distant. I seem to be spending more and more time with you - not that that's a bad thing - and less and less time with him. It's not even my fault! I just feel like he's trying to push me away," she admitted.

"Gin, I'm sure everything's fine and he's just worried about the upcoming match at the beginning of the season."

"I guess. I'm just wondering how much longer we're going to last. I haven't heard from him since the last practice, and that was weeks ago because of the weather."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Harry assured. He had never really liked the idea of Ginny and Dean together, but if it made her happy, he would just have to deal with it and be pleased for her.

"You're probably right, Harry."

"It was bound to happen eventually," he smiled.

"Shut up!" she grinned, her mood quickly improving again.

Harry and Ginny had been close for the last few years now, especially this year, as they were on the same Quidditch team. She valued his friendship and opinions and was highly dependent on him . He was almost like another brother, not that she needed any more, six was more than enough. They had a close bond and shared most things with each other. It was nice to have that with someone who was not actually biological related.

"So, what do you think about Cho's new boyfriend?" Ginny asked gently.

Harry and Cho had had various attempts at a relationship, all of which had failed. Regardless, Ginny was sure that he still liked her a lot.

"Even more mind-boggling than the last," he grinned, fine with the question.

"I like the statement, 'mind-boggling'," she laughed. "But seriously, what do you think of him?"

He thought about it for a minute and then sighed. "She really does have bad taste in men, doesn't she?" he mumbled.

"She dated you. About five times actually," Ginny pointed out.

"_Attempted_ to," he corrected, "and I am happy to be able to say that I am excused from the list of the seriously strange men she's dated over the years."

"So, you don't really care?" she questioned, giving him a sceptical look.

"No, if you remember correctly, I broke up with _her_ the last time. I have no feelings for her anymore. She does have a funny taste in boyfriends these days. I hope I haven't messed with her brain permanently. She used to be fine before we started crazy 'dating' each other."

"Well I'm glad you've moved on, but you really do need to get yourself a girlfriend. You're an international Quidditch star, the boy who defeated Voldemort, and Witch Weekly's most eligible bachelor of the year! I'm sure that there are thousands of girls who'd want you as a boyfriend," she said, as he rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance. Ginny had been trying to set him up on dates for months, trying to make him to 'get himself out there' and meet some nice girls. According to her, he had a very lax dating history, and that needed to change.

"For the last time, I don't want to date at the moment! I am trying to focus on my Quidditch, and having a girlfriend in the mist of that would not be helpful. I don't want to date someone who only knows me as the Boy-Who-Lived. Also, as you know, I hate all of the talk about me being the most eligible bachelor of the year. It's all a load of rubbish!" he defended, taking a deep swig of Butterbeer to calm himself down. Nothing irritated him more than false statements made by the press.

"Jeez! You need to relax a little. You are really tense at the moment. Anyway, having a relationship is not a bad thing. It might make you feel less pressured."

"I doubt it."

"Alright, fine, but just you wait, someday there are going to be suspicions floating around that you'd prefer to date other guys instead of girls."

"Ginny! You know for a fact that I'm not gay!" he exclaimed, surprised that she'd say something like that.

"Yes, I know that but Witch Weekly doesn't, does it?" she said, craftily.

"Look, I don't want a girlfriend right now. So…what did you got me for Christmas?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Ah, well you're just going to have to wait and see," she grinned mischievously.

"Can't you just give me a little hint? Please?"

"No! Christmas is two days away, you can wait until then."

"Fine," he said, giving her a sulky look by sticking his bottom lip out, like a moody child.

"Don't give me that look!" she laughed, hitting his arm playfully. "The rest of us have to wait too."

"I know, but I don't like waiting," he smiled, getting over his little tantrum.

"I know!" she giggled, just as the food alarm went off next to them, nearly sending Harry flying out of his chair in shock.

"Dinner!" Mrs Weasley's voice rang loud and clear. Even though they were all adults at work, she still treated them as little children when they were in her house.

Ginny helped Harry back into his seat, biting down on her tongue to stop herself from laughing hysterically at him. Molly walked briskly through the door just as they were both seated properly.

"Well, aren't you two enthusiastic!" she smiled, when she saw them already sat at the table waiting. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving, Mum." Ginny rolled her eyes. No one could ever be starving living off of Mrs Weasley's cooking! "Are you trying to fatten us up?"

"You don't need fattening up, sis," Fred announced, walking briskly up to the table.

"Harry's doing an excellent job of that himself," George added helpfully.

Since she had left Hogwarts, Ginny wanted to start living off her own devices and not depending on her parents to sort her out all of the time, so she began looking for a place to live just as Harry bought his two-bedroom apartment. After several weeks of living on his own, Harry got bored of the lack of company, so he persuaded Ginny to take the spare bedroom in his flat.

The arrangement suited them both, as they could go to practice together and then take turns on who would do the cooking, cleaning, and shopping. The only thing they argued about was the cleaning, so they got a maid to do that for them once it got so bad that the carpet seemed to have disappeared.

The only person who was not completely in love with the situation was Ron. He did not want his little sister living with his best mate, especially as the rooms were across the hall from each other. Eventually they were able to convince him that late night bedroom visits were probably not going to be a constant thing, and he agreed as long as they 'behaved'. This statement made Ginny and Harry laugh, and supplied them with plenty of things to talk about.

"Harry, am I fat?" Ginny asked, turning to him demandingly.

"Of course you're not, Gin!" he smiled fondly at her. This was one of her favourite conversations, and it frequently surfaced after a trip to The Burrow, where the twins would tease her.

"Remember the agreement," Ron warned, emerging from the living room with Hermione hovering behind him nervously.

"I'm allowed to tell her she's not fat, aren't I?" Harry replied with his eyebrows raised.

"Well, yes, but you've been warned," he said sitting down.

"Oh. So…Ron? What were you and Hermione doing in there on your own for so long? I couldn't hear very much talking going on," Ginny accused, unimpressed with the way that he always treated Harry regarding their relationship. He was supposed to be his best friend, he should have a little trust for Christ sakes!

At her question, Ron and Hermione looked at each other in alarm before deciding to ignore her comment altogether, and stared down at the table, pretending not to be there.

Fred and George however, found that little remark absolutely hilarious.

"Ohhh! Has ickle Ronniekins been having a very interesting intellectual conversation with his girlfriend?" Fred asked, sarcastically.

"Aww! It's nice to know that maybe Hermione's brains will transfer to you through spit!"

"George!" Molly exclaimed, swiping him over the head with the whisk that was in her hand at the time.

"Sorry Mum, it was only a joke. We can still hope that their kids get Hermione's brains, if they don't…poor unfortunate buggers!"

"So close, but yet so far," Fred finished, dramatically.

"Oi! I got more O.W.L.'s than both of you put together!" Ron snapped, his ears turning red.

"Yes, but are you a creator of one of the most promising joke shops in the whole of the Wizarding world? No, you are not," George informed him.

"Sod off," Ron scowled, muttering under his breath, but apparently he was not quiet enough.

"Ronald Billius Weasley! Don't you ever let me hear you using that disgusting tone at my dinner table!"

"Sorry Mum," he gave in, defeated.

Ginny rolled her eyes and winked at Harry. He sniggered into his hand, changing it into a choking fit at the last minute, after meeting Ron's icy glare from across the table, and receiving a sharp kick from under the table in Hermione's direction.

"Ow! Merlin, Hermione! That hurt!" he exclaimed, turning to scowl at her. She just smiled innocently.

"So, are you two thinking about a wedding yet?" Molly pressed, setting down plates of roast dinner in front of the twins, who started eating it like wild animals. "Fred! George! Manners!"

"Oryum!" they chorused, smiling at her with their mouths full of various vegetables, beef and Yorkshire pudding.

"Mum, for the last time. There is not going to be a wedding. At least not yet anyway," Ron said, uncomfortably.

"Why not?! You have been together for years! Surely it's time to make things official!"

"No! That is for me and Hermione to decide. We're not ready yet," he replied, seriously.

"Fine! Fine…George! Close your mouth this instant and swallow that food!" she snapped, at seeing him showing Ginny the inside of his mouth, whilst she squealed and tried to back away from him, causing her to practically sit on top of Harry.

Harry put his cutlery down and held his hands up, rolling his eyes at Ron who was glaring at him because Ginny was now sitting on his knee.

* * *

After dinner, Fred and George went back home to flat above the shop while everyone else stayed to had a few drinks around the fire. It wasn't long before Harry and Ginny decided that they better get home themselves.

"You're coming back tomorrow morning?" Molly asked, standing up as they did.

"Of course, Mum," Ginny assured, giving her a hug.

"I'd better be off too," Hermione announced, grabbing her wand from the bookshelf, "I've got to be in the office early first thing tomorrow to drop some files off."

Hermione now worked at the Ministry in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, in the Improper Use of Magic Office. Much to Ron's dismay, she had her own flat near the Ministry, and no longer needed to crash at the Burrow. It also bugged him because he was still living at home with his parents, unable to move out because of the fact that there weren't many affordable properties available in London near Gringotts, where he now worked.

"Why don't you stay a little longer?" Ron asked Hermione, dropping subtle hints that only Harry and Ginny could understand, and which made them want to vomit

"Sorry, we've got a date with the TV. Isn't that right, Harry?" Ginny smiled, trying to pretend that Ron had been talking to them too, so his motives were not completely obvious.

"Yep, Angelina Jolie calls," Harry grinned back, receiving a playful swat from Ginny.

"Who?" Ron asked, confused.

"A Muggle actress," Ginny informed him.

"A rather good one at that," Hermione added. "Oh, and I can't stay, because it's late and I want to get some sleep."

He sighed in defeat, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow sometime then?"

"Sure. I will come around later when I can." Hermione pulled Ginny into a hug, Harry gave her a kiss on the cheek, and she bent down for Ron to give her a passionate kiss before walking into the fireplace and disappearing in the emerald green flames.

Molly gave Harry a hug and smiled at Ginny. The smile she used was not one that either Ginny or Harry understood, but they did not mention anything.

"See ya, mate," Ron said hauling himself off of the sofa, slapping Harry on the back, "Ginny, be careful," he added to his sister, warningly.

"Jeez, Ron! If Harry and I were going to fall in bed together, I'm sure it would have happened before now. We have been sharing our small apartment for nearly a year; I'd hoped that you'd kind of moved on from that ridiculous speculation!" Ginny sighed in irritation.

Harry chuckled at Ron's quickly reddening face before turning to her, "Let's go, shall we? Our chamber awaits," he laughed, bowing low and holding out his arm.

She giggled in amusement, "Certainly, sir, that sounds very inviting," she replied taking the offered arm in an over exaggerated fashion.

"OK, OK! No need to milk it. I'll see you guys tomorrow," Ron gave in, sighing.

"Goodbye, dear brother. I shall think of your kind words of concern, when Harry and I are in bed together tonight," Ginny smirked as they stepped into the fire, giving Ron no time to respond.

* * *

They arrived at their apartment, laughing rather loudly and hysterically.

Ginny emerged from under the hearth first, Harry following and then turned on the lights as they both walked into the kitchen, still laughing. They both jumped up onto the island in the middle, and sighed.

Overall, their 'small' apartment was anything but small. It was a very posh, expensive, and very messy looking place that rightly belonged to two exceptional young international pro Quidditch stars.

There were two large sized bedrooms, a gigantic bathroom, an open living and dining area, with the kitchen just around the corner. It suited their needs perfectly.

"I still can't believe Ron!" Ginny giggled.

"I know! He genuinely thinks that we're having a romantic relationship behind everyone's backs," Harry agreed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Merlin, Ron is going to slaughter us tomorrow after everything we said as we left."

"Probably."

"Oh well, just seeing the look on his face was worth it."

"I think you're right," Ginny grinned.

"Do you want a hot chocolate?" Harry asked after a few seconds of comfortable silence as he slid off of the surface.

"Yes please," she smiled back, "with marshmallows and cream?"

"Of course," he rolled his eyes, before filling and boiling the kettle.

Ginny watched Harry whizz around the kitchen for a while, before deciding that her presence wasn't needed. "I'm going to go change," she announced, hopping down off of her perch.

"Alright," he replied turning to smile quickly at her, before the kettle started whistling and he turned to attend to it.

Ginny couldn't help but grin at the fact that she was somehow sharing a flat with one of the only men in the world who could cook and navigate himself around the kitchen. Talk about striking gold! Especially since she couldn't cook herself; he was quite useful to have around .

She turned down the hall towards her room, wondering if Dean could cook; and whether or not they'd live off of Muggle takeaways if they chose to live with each other.

* * *

Ginny's bedroom was the lightest room in the whole apartment in the middle of the day. The walls were painted a silvery purple colour and the carpet was crème. There was a large double bed against the farthest wall with a pretty white duvet with small lilac butterflies scattered daintily across it.

When she walked in the first thing she did was spend five minutes hoping around the room in an attempt to pull off her tight brown boots.

Harry heard her clattering as he walked past the bedroom door and cautiously knocked. "Gin? Are you alright in there?"

"Yes…I'm…I'm fine…dang it!" she muttered.

"Are you sure?" he checked, unsure, due to the sudden noise of a loud bang.

"Yeah, nothing's wrong…OWW!" she cried irritably, as she hit her back on the dressing table.

"Can I come in?" he asked, nervously .

"Sure," she replied, just before falling onto her bed. She sighed and flopped back against the pillows in exhaustion, dropping her ankle, and blowing her red hair out of her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, moving over to her.

"Um…could you possibly help me take these off?" she asked, pointing to her feet. "I think they're stuck."

"Oh," he chuckled. He grabbed hold of her right ankle and tugged lightly, then harder and harder.

_Yep, she was right. They're stuck fast!_ Harry thought in amusement.

"Okay, Ginny. Hold onto the edge of the bed tightly so I can pull them off," he said after a minute or two of pointless yanking.

"In theory," she added, doing as she was told and gripping the metal bar behind her.

"Ready? One, two, three!" Harry pulled as hard as he could, but the boot didn't budge, though he did manage to pull Ginny's bed slightly away from the wall. Refusing to believe that a shoe could beat him, he tried again. Nothing happened. He sighed, "Merlin! Have you glued these to your feet or something?"

"No. They just won't come off!" she wailed, "What if we never get them off and I have to wear the same pair of shoes for the rest of my life!"

"It won't come to that," Harry comforted her. "If the worst comes to the worst we'll just have to sever them off of your feet."

"But I like these boots!"

"Right, well, I've just had an idea. Hold still," he said, pulling his wand out of his pocket. "_Carpe Retractum_!" he announced pointing at her shoes.

Magical ropes shot out of the end of the wand, wrapped themselves around both of Ginny's ankles, and began to forcefully remove the boots.

Ginny muttered a string of swear words as she clung onto her bed frame as if her life depended on it. Eventually the boots slid off of her feet with such strength that the ropes flew backwards and one of the boots smacked Harry in the face, knocking him over.

"Damn!" he exclaimed clambering up, clenching his nose. It was wonky and he could feel warm blood trickling down his chin.

"It's broken," Ginny said, moving closer to examine it, carefully removing his hand so she could see the extent of the damage. She drew her own wand and pronounced clearly, "_Episkey_!"

Harry's nose clicked back into place and they both flinched at the sound.

"Sorry," she apologized, smiling timidly.

"Don't worry about it, Cookie," he said distantly. His tone suggested that his mind was elsewhere.

"Cookie?" Ginny asked in confusion.

"What?" he replied, his face snapping back into reality.

"Cookie? You called me, Cookie," she grinned mischievously.

"I did?" he asked in surprise. "Well, I have no idea where that came from!" he laughed.

"Yeah, me either. You must be hungry," she giggled, "but thank you for your help."

"Oh, don't mention it, Cookie," he smirked. "I'll leave you to get changed now. See you in the living room," he said on his way to the door.

"OK, sure thing," she smiled back, watching him leave before throwing the boots into the bottom of her wardrobe, forcefully, and slamming the doors shut


	2. Chapter 2

Ginny's eyes flew open in confusion when she realised that she wasn't in her room, in bed. She tried to stand upright, only to hear a complaint from on top of her. Harry rolled off the sofa, onto the floor and hit the carpet with a thud.

"Harry?!" Ginny exclaimed, helping him up.

"Yes, that was me, the last time I checked," he grumbled, plonking himself back down onto the sofa. "Why'd you wake me up?" he demanded, yawning loudly, resting his head back against the overstuffed cushions and closing his eyes.

"You were on top of me! I-I jumped up, then you landed on the floor," she explained protectively.

Only one thing seemed to completely catch his attention out of what she'd just said.

"I was on top of you?" he asked, sitting up in bewilderment, his eyes snapping into focus for the first time since he'd been woken up. "Why would I be on top of you?"

"Well, I don't know! I guess we must have fallen asleep on the sofa and that's just the way we ended up," she suggested.

"Oh well," he said grinning. "We now have new material to try out on Ron. How annoyed do you think he'll be when we tell him that we 'slept together'? He doesn't need to know about the fact that it was on a sofa, fully clothed," he winked mischievously.

Ginny giggled, "You are so bad! He'll kill us both!"

"If he tries, we can always tell him the truth, and have a jolly good laugh about it," he informed her standing up and stretching his arms up above his head. He dragged his hand through his unruly, messy jet black hair, and ambled sleepily into the kitchen.

"I swear I'm a bad influence over you. You used to be so sweet and innocent before I moved in. I'm corrupting you into my brothers' mischievous ways!" she grinned, shaking her head in denial.

"Ah, now that is where you're wrong. My Dad was one of the _Marauder s _, it's in my blood. Not to mention that my Godfather was none other than the Sirius Black! I think I was doomed to a fate similar to this somewhere along the line. Whether you just helped give that side of me a kick of encouragement we will never know. Anyway, I never really had much of a thing for sticking by the rules, did I?" he explained smiling, before pulling open the fridge door.

"That's true. From what I've heard about the Marauders, you seem to be getting more like your Dad every day. I bet it would have kicked in sooner if you hadn't had Voldemort hanging over your head," Ginny pointed out logically.

Harry let out a snort of laughter. "Now I have the mental image of Voldemort being levitated in the air and him following me around!"

"Now that I would have _loved_ to see," she smirked. "In a strange sort of way, you're kind of experiencing your childhood a little late in life."

"Better late than never," he said, setting the milk down on the counter and finding some eggs.

Ginny stumbled over to the window, drew the curtains and threw up the black-out blind. She had to shield her eyes from the glare of the sunshine.

She followed Harry into the kitchen and helped him prepare breakfast. Even though she actually wasn't much of a help in the practical side of cooking, Harry liked having somebody to talk with whilst he was working; a post she was more than happy to fill.

* * *

Half an hour later, they were sat at the table directly across from each other, laughing and eating poached eggs on toast. They were still in their pyjamas and didn't seem to be in any sort of rush.

Once they'd finished eating, they stuck their plates into the washing up bowl. Ginny turned back to the bright sunlight seeping in through the window.

"What time is it, Harry?" she asked casually.

He looked down at his watch, "Oh Merlin! It's half past two in the afternoon!" he exclaimed after a second, jumping up out of his chair and downing the rest of his morning coffee.

"What! We were supposed to be at The Burrow ages ago!" Ginny announced franticly. "We've got to go. Now!"

"Maybe we should get dressed first?" Harry suggested as she began rushing towards the door in her slippers.

"That might help," she said running down the corridor and into her room like a rocket, with Harry at her heels until they parted at separate ends of the hall.

* * *

Harry had never been more surprised when Ginny came out of room again after only _ten minutes_. He had learnt quite a lot about her through living together for a year. One such thing was that she always took ages to get ready! But here she was, looking very presentable after only a fraction of her normal pre-morning ritual time slot.

In a normal morning before Quidditch practice, Ginny would get up at half six. After spending two hours doing things like showering, sorting her hair, make-up and getting dressed, she would wake Harry up and drag him out of bed. He was then towed into the kitchen where he made them breakfast before Ginny had the chance to burn anything and set the smoke alarm off - they despised the annoying bleeping device, but the building owner was a Muggle and the only rule he had was that the smoke alarm worked. While Harry was making breakfast, Ginny would go back into Harry's room, choose his clothes for the day and lay out his stuff for when he got out of the shower. It was a strange routine, but they'd been doing it for so long that it was just normal for them now.

Ginny took one glance at Harry's shocked face before doing a quick sweep of herself, making sure she'd remembered to assemble her clothes the right way around so that her underwear was in fact under her jeans and t-shirt.

Once satisfied that she'd dressed correctly, she raised an eyebrow at him. "Something wrong?" she demanded.

"No, no. It's just that you only took a normal person's amount of time to get ready! Are you feeling OK?" he asked, walking towards her. "You don't feel sick, dizzy or nauseous?"

"Oh, shut up!" she grinned, rolling her eyes. "Shall we go before Mum sends out a search party?" she suggested, picking up her handbag from the kitchen where she'd thrown it the night before.

"That's a good idea," Harry agreed, pocketing his wallet and keys off of the table, before walking towards the fire. "After you, Cookie," he said with a grin.

"Why thank you, Muffin," she smirked back, taking a handful of Floo powder and shouting, "The Burrow!" and disappearing in the mass of green flames.

* * *

It was fair to say that Mrs Weasley was far less than happy when the pair finally stumbled into the cramped household of redheads. But soon enough she was occupied with the Christmas Eve-eve preparations that she claimed where not going get finished by themselves. And as punishment for being late, Harry and Ginny were dragged into the kitchen; their wands momentarily confiscated, and made to peel the sprouts by hand.

"This is painfully familiar," Harry sighed putting his fifty-sixth sprout in the bowl. He was remembering the time when they were still at Hogwarts and he and Ron had been forced to do this odious task too. And because they were underage, they couldn't use their wands, it was just a cruel form of torture.

"I spent all of my childhood years pealing vegetables!" Ginny grumbled, from the counter next to him. "This is just so _boring_!"

Harry was about to reply when an idea came to him. He splashed the water in the washing up bowl at an unsuspecting Ginny, and was rewarded by an alarmed squeak as it soaked the front of her jumper.

"Oh, so _that's_ the way you wanna play it?" she says threateningly, a playful - yet evil - smirk forming in the corner of her lips.

Harry wanted so badly to take cover somewhere and hide, but he stood his ground. "Yes," he replied simply.  
"You are _soo_on, Potter!" she exclaimed, grabbing the dripping dishcloth from the worktop. Before he had the chance to figure out what she was up to, or hide, she hauled the cloth at him.

It whacked him hard in the face, causing his glasses to half fall off and hang off one of his ears. The front of his hair was all drenched and was dripping water droplets onto the shoulder of his t-shirt. The offending dishcloth fell onto the floor with a soft thud.

Ginny raised one eyebrow challengingly, almost daring him to respond with another attack. _Well_, Harry thought to himself. _We can't disappoint a lady now can we? _

Feeling slightly childish, he picked up a sprout and threw it at her; it bounced gently off her nose before rolling under the bottom cupboard.

"This means war," she announced, grabbing a handful of the vegetables and stuffing then down the front of his jeans.

Harry responded by grabbing her in a headlock and quickly dunking her head in the washing up bowl. She came up spluttering, her red hair full of soapy water. She grabbed the washing up liquid and squirted him with it; the green substance covered the font of his glasses.

Taking advantage of his momentary blind state, she jumped on his back, locking her legs around his torso, and began hitting him around the head with a scrubbing brush.

Harry couldn't help but laugh as he stumbled blindly around the kitchen, Ginny also squealing hysterically in his ear.

"What is going on in here?" exclaimed a voice from the doorway.

Harry and Ginny both stopped shouting at once and turned to face the owner of the voice. Ginny wiped the goo off of the front of Harry's glasses so he could see who was stood at the door, but he didn't even need to see to know who it was.

"Oh, hi Hermione," Harry grinned sheepishly, letting Ginny drop down off of his back safely.

"Don't 'Oh, hi Hermione' me, Harry Potter! What on earth is going on?!" she repeated, hands on hips with an eyebrow raised in a way that only Hermione Granger could make truly scary.

"Peeling sprouts," Ginny said simply, not effected by Hermione's expression at all. "Why? Do you want to help?"

"No, I do not want to help!" she cried. "I want to know why you're both covered in food and are soaked to the skin!"

"Oh, well we had a water slash food fight," Ginny smiled.

"Well, Molly is going to be furious when she sees the mess you two are in! Go clean yourselves up immediately," she demanded.

"OK! OK! Come on Muffin," Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh, but, Hermione, would you mind…?" she asked signalling to the pile of vegetables that they'd not yet finished.

Hermione sighed, but with a flick of her wand the whole lot was peeled and washed. "What would you do without me?" she said shaking her head disbelievingly.

"Panic?" Ginny suggested.

"Get in more trouble than we already do?" Harry added.

"Yes, now go!" Hermione ordered, smiling slightly at her two friends as they disappeared around the corner out of the kitchen. She loved them both but sometimes they truly were thick.

To her it was painfully obvious that they liked each other in a way that was just more than friends, but they seemed to be just as oblivious as Ron was to feelings like that. _Why couldn't they just realise how they feel?_

It was infuriating for her to watch their everyday playful banter and not just blurt something out. But she had already decided to leave them be and let them figure it out on their own. They had to realise someday didn't they?

* * *

The rest of the day passed in a blur; it was all a flurry of tinsel, various tree decorations, food, wrapping paper and mistletoe.

Ron and Ginny had already gotten stuck under Fred and George's magical mistletoe that they'd sprung in the landing outside the bathroom. It seemed like they hadn't perfected it so much that it didn't trap siblings under it.

They had been stuck for over an hour, with their feet planted to the floor, quite unable to move. And both of them had gotten exceedingly angry as the time passed. Eventually George remembered the counter spell and cast it silently before winking at his brother mischievously. They were defiantly up to something.

They all put up the Christmas tree the Muggle way, and they decorated it with different colours of tinsel and various baubles. The only thing that they didn't do the Muggle way was the annual gnome at the top of the tree-which Fred had caught earlier and decorated in a tutu and spray-painted silver.

At about ten in the evening, Harry and Ginny finally managed to escape back home and away from the madhouse. Both of them were completely exhausted and craved a good night's sleep.

"Well, Cookie, that was an interesting day," Harry yawned from behind his hot chocolate mug.

"Mmmm, although I wouldn't exactly say that I was completely thrilled to get stuck under the mistletoe with my brother! Just…ewww!" she complained.

Harry just laughed at her. "Well at least you didn't have to kiss him in the end though," he pointed out.

"True. But you had to kiss Hermione!" she sniggered.

"Oh Merlin, don't remind me!" he grumbled. "I thought Ron was actually going to kill me! The concept of it was pretty much the same as forcing you and one of your brothers to kiss. It's just not right! Hermione's always been like my sister, and so that was practically incest! I hope that I never have to do it again!" he said, finishing off his drink.

"Well then you'd best be more careful in future then!" she laughed.

The duo sat at the kitchen table just talking, as they did most evenings. Whether they'd just sit and discuss Quidditch practice, family issues, TV programmes or just general rubbish, they found it a good healthy way to share a house without murdering one another. The strange thing was that no matter how irrelevant or random the topic they chose was, they never ran out of anything to say to each other. That was one of the beauties of their relationship, things were never awkward.

"Well at least we have tomorrow at home," Harry yawned, after a second, levitating his empty mug into the sink where the washing up utensils started scrubbing it clean.

"True. One day without Fred and George doing something annoying and idiotic," Ginny sighed, smiling slightly.

"One day of them not doing something annoying and idiotic to _you_," Harry corrected. "They're still going to drive your family " your Mother in particular " insane."

"Then it's just as well that we're not there. I value my hearing too much; I don't need my Mum bursting my eardrums with her shrieking."

Harry just laughed in amusement as he stood up and stretched. "I'm going to bed now. I'll see you in the morning. Oh, and please, Cookie, let me sleep in until at least ten," he begged.

Ginny smirked in a way that could not be trusted; it told Harry that she was planning something. "Of course, Muffin. You need every second of beauty sleep you can get!" she grinned.

"Hey! I will have you know that I am already very beautiful," he exclaimed, pretending to be scandalized.

"Sure, Harry. Keep telling yourself that," she said cheekily.

"You're so cruel to me, Cookie!" he cried, pretending to be very upset and hurt.

"Aww, you love me really!" she giggled, standing up to give him a hug.

Harry hugged her back and chuckled lightly. "Goodnight Gin. I'll see you tomorrow." He kissed her gently on the cheek and disappeared down the hall to his bedroom.

Ginny watched him go before sinking back down into her chair at the table. She really should be going to bed herself; Christmas was always bust very time of year, and it usually exhausted her.

She sat there with various thoughts whizzing through her head. After Christmas it would soon be the start of a new year, and the end of one of the best of her life.

Living with Harry was easy, he knew her so well and vice versa. There was hardly any tension between them, and they only argued very occasionally. One such time was when Harry had hosted a guy's night out in their house.

_**-Start of Flashback-**_  
_Ginny was laying in her bed with her pillows over her head to try and block out all of the noise. She had tried to use silencing charms, but she and Harry had agreed previously that they should put up some irreversible charms to stop any other spells like that from working. Harry had joked that it was so that he could tell when she was asleep because of her loud snoring, but Ginny always stuck with her choice of it being so that she could hear him singing in the shower._

The infuriating racket had been thrumming through the walls of her bedroom from the living room since half past nine that evening; it was now one in the morning, and they were making no indication of stopping any time soon.

She could distinctly hear Ron howling with laughter and most of her other brothers were there too, judging by the very familiar yelling and so-called singing (which could very obviously been mistaken for two cat's fighting). There was a constant din of loud music and a lot of shouting and yelling.

Eventually, losing her patience, Ginny threw her duvet off of her, threaded her arms through her dressing gown and marched out of her room and down the hall.

When Harry had seen her storm into the room he had gulped and suddenly felt quite scared of her. She looked positively furious and if looks could kill…well, let's just say that he'd be long dead.

Ginny walked straight up to their stereo " which worked in their apartment because of it being a Muggle property, and therefore had electricity " and turned it

off.

_There was a groan that passed all around the room as the music suddenly stopped. Then her brothers finally turned and spotted their younger sister. They all flinched, knowing full well what she was capable of._

"I want you all gone in the next minute," she said in a deadly flat tone that suggested that she was too angry to even yell at them.

Immediately all of the redheads and a few other guys that she knew but was too tired to put a name to picked up their jackets, and everything else they'd brought with them, and either Apparated home, or used the Floo network from their fireplace.

When everyone was gone, Ginny turned to Harry and glared at him. He backed away a few paces in alarm, his hands held protectively in front of him.

"Gin, I'm really sorry, I didn't realise that we were making so much noise!" Harry tried to explain his eyes pleading silently with her.

"It is gone one in the morning, and we have Quidditch practice tomorrow. If you fall off your broom and die because you've gone to sleep in the air, you'll have no one to blame but yourself. Sure it is still up to you what time you want to go to sleep, but next time don't bloody well keep me awake too! I'd like to get some sleep so that I'm not flat out in the morning!" she growled.

"I'm sorry I kept you awake!" he apologised, stumbling as he tried to walk towards her.

Harry was usually the kind of guy who could hold his alcohol. He never got drunk, even if he drank as much as Ron, and her brother was giggling and singing female Muggle pop songs. This was always a blessing in disguise when Ron needed someone to bring him back to The Burrow without Apparating on his own and Splinching himself badly. But right now, Harry defiantly looked tipsy.

_**How much had he drunk?! **_

Ginny voiced this observation, "Merlin, Harry! How much have you gone and drunk! It takes a lot to get you pissed," she snapped irritably.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I can't remember. Ron just kept handing me bottles and telling me to drink them. He said it would clear my mind and loosen me up a bit. He reckons I work too hard and that I need a break."

"Well getting smashed isn't going to help anything, is it? If anything it'll make the situation worse!" she told him exasperatedly.

"I-I…oh God "" Harry started, his hand over his mouth and his eyes wide.

Ginny grabbed his by hand and ran him down to the nearest bathroom. She pulled up the toilet seat just in time for Harry to haul down into it. He whimpered pathetically before looking up at her pitifully.

"Don't look at me like that; it's your own fault," Ginny said stubbornly just as Harry lurched for the toilet and threw up noisily. "OK, fine! Wait here," she sighed, leaving the room and coming back seconds later with a potion in her hand. "Drink this," she ordered, thrusting at him.

"What is it?" he asked weakly

"It is designed for idiots who drink too much. It will stop you throwing up for long enough so you can get to sleep," she explained harshly.

Harry took the potion gratefully out of her hand and swallowed the whole thing in one go. "Thank you," he smiled sleepily as it started to work its magic.

Ginny had to help Harry get into his bed, and he collapsed on the top and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

She found a blanket in the cupboard and draped it over him before ruffling his hair gently. "You know, for the boy who saved the world, you can be pretty useless sometimes," she rolled her eyes before smiling affectionately at the man who was her closest friend.

_**-End of Flashback-**_

Merlin, he annoyed her sometimes! But she didn't know what she'd do without him. Ginny finished off her drink and put the empty mug in the sink. She leant back against the work station and sighed.

It wasn't weird that she preferred her best friend immensely over her boyfriend was it?


End file.
